Industrial towns are new retail hostspots in India: Report

Industrial townships and Tier II cities are emerging as new retail centres in India, according to a study compiled by a leading retail IT solutions provider.

The report titled ‘Indian Retail Footprint – 2013’, compiled by Ginesys, states that there is high penetration of retailers, including apparel retailers, in industrial townships and Tier II cities like Gwalior, Surat, Dhanbad, Vijaywada, Pune, Chandigarh, Visakhapatnam, etc.

However, metros like Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata still remain the leading retail hotspots in India, says the report.

But in South India, Hyderabad has larger retail penetration compared to Bangalore, despite a lower population than the latter. Chennai stands third in terms of number of retail footprint in South India.

Among other findings, the report states that Gurgaon, which is nearer to the national capital, is a larger retail hub than Lucknow, the capital of the state of Uttar Pradesh.

Similarly, in Western India, Pune is a larger retail hotspot compared to cities like Nagpur and Ahmedabad.

In the Central region, the study names Indore as the retail hub, while it terms Bhopal and Ranchi as emerging retail centres.

It especially mentions that industrial towns like Jamshedpur, Dhanbad and Rourkela are attracting more population for the purpose of industrial activity, which expands the scope for more business opportunity. “In these cities, per capita income of people is increasing because of high earning capacity and growing industrial activities,” says the study.

“Rise in discretionary/per capita income has given a boost to retail consumption in Tier II cities and towns. At the same time, these towns and cities have witnessed rapid improvements in infrastructure and logistics enabling retailers to set up outlets to cater to the demand,” Mr. Prashant Lohia, chief executive officer of Ginesys, said in a statement.